Running Wild!
by Forgotten Muse
Summary: ARCHIVED
1. The Fury

Running Wild!  
  
By T 'RockChick' Evans  
  
I don't own anyone in this fic… actually, I don't even own the story! It's based on issues 80 - 82 of Egmont Fleetway's Sonic the Comic. (My favourite story, all hail Nigel Kitching…) So don't sue me… I'm not doing any harm…  
  
This is in Sonic's point of view, by the way. It helps if you've read the comic, to see what the other characters are up to when Sonic/Super isn't there. A couple things to remember… Sonic doesn't have green eyes yet, and Porker is living on the Floating Island. Also, you may be wondering why Super Sonic's sections aren't in first- person like the rest. Think about it. Sonic never remembers anything about going Super, right? So I couldn't exactly have him telling the story. And have you ever seen Super Sonic with a thought balloon in STC? Ever? Thought not… so… doing it in third person is the fanfic equivalent… I think…  
  
* * * *  
  
~ Chapter 1 ~  
  
"Hello? Is anyone there?"  
  
My dark brown eyes scanned the Floating Island's Emerald Chamber. I turned to the bookish -looking pig behind me, and shrugged.  
  
"I don't think Knuckles is here, Porker."  
  
Again, I glanced around the room. Nope- no sign of Red anywhere. The place looked a lot worse than the last time I was in here. I mean, it's usually pretty gloomy in the Emerald Chamber, because the only decent light comes from the Chaos Emeralds- and even that has a strangeness about it. This time though there was rubble everywhere, as well as the usual dust and cobwebs. Some of the ancient pillars were broken; chunks of stone had been prized from the walls…  
  
In short, it looked like there had been a fight.  
  
"Boy, that Knuckles sure is a messy housekeeper!" I tutted, pretending to be shocked. My friend frowned and shook his head.  
  
"No, you don't understand, Sonic!" he explained patiently. I was about to tell him I was kidding- after all, have you ever seen my place?! - but he was already continuing. "Knuckles had a battle with a robot head, and…"  
  
"Robot head?" I butted in, vaguely interested. "What happened to the rest of it?"  
  
"Well, it did have a body but that was when it was working for Doctor Zachary. Doctor Zachary, you see, was…"  
  
I yawned. Not really listening, I let Porker ramble on. He has a tendency to get wordy, and when he does… argh. The boredom!  
  
My mind wandered, and whatever he was going on about went in one ear and out the other. If there's something I hate, it's a boring lecture. One thing I learned in school was how to tune them out…  
  
I found myself absently looking over at the Chaos Emeralds. As usual, I felt strangely drawn to the seven large gems, and the power they contained… yet repulsed at the same time. I knew what they could do to me.  
  
The emeralds were contained in a shaft of light that exited through a hole in the ceiling and another in the floor; the well seemed to go a very long way down and was encircled by a low stone wall. The shaft, I'd been told in another of Porker's lectures, directed the power of the emeralds- their energy flowed from here into the core of the Island, keeping it aloft. The Chaos Emeralds had been free- floating the first time I had seen them, but Knuckles seemed to have restored them to their original place.  
  
"…But Knuckles didn't know that at first, and then…" Porker droned, intruding on my thoughts.  
  
He was starting to irritate me…  
  
"Forget it, Porker!" I snapped, briefly turning my gaze away from the emeralds. "The last thing I want is to listen to one of your boring stories!"  
  
I mentally kicked myself… there goes my temper again. I have a very short fuse, and people get on my nerves very quickly... It's probably because everyone else is so much slower than I am. I get impatient with them. But I'm Sonic the hedgehog- so it's only natural, right?  
  
Problem was, I knew Porker gets upset almost as easily as I get worked up.  
  
"Anyway, I didn't really come to the Floating Island to see Knuckles," I began, more calmly. "It was you I wanted to see."  
  
"M…me?" Porker stammered. He looked nervously at me… but Porker was always nervous. He's my complete opposite- no confidence whatsoever, and not exactly the bravest guy around either. It grates on me sometimes, but we're still friends- I've known him for as long as I can remember.  
  
Besides, he had every right to be nervous after everything he'd been through.  
  
"Don't worry, old buddy…" I reassured him. "I'm not gonna ask you to join us in the fight against Robotnik again; I've just come to see how you are." A while ago, Porker had been trapped on the Miracle Planet for a month, with a whole army of Metallixes… when we found him, he was tied up with metal cables and was scared senseless. Goodness knows what the Metallixes hade done to him, but it left him a nervous wreck. He couldn't go on after that, and had left the Freedom Fighters soon afterwards.  
  
"I'm fine, Sonic…" Porker smiled. "Life's much better since I moved to the Floating Island." He paused thoughtfully. I grinned back and walked over towards the emerald shaft.  
  
A chill went through me as I approached the Chaos Emeralds, partly due to the low temperature needed to keep them stable. But it was the energy radiating from them that made my whole body tingle; the feeling was almost pleasant, and again I was aware of the energy calling me closer…  
  
After a long silence, Porker guiltily spoke up.  
  
"…But I still can't help thinking that I let everyone down."  
  
I sighed. I had thought that too, when he first told me he was quitting. But I wasn't angry with him anymore, I couldn't blame Porker forever.  
  
"Forget it, Porker. You've already done more than your fair share." That was true, the gadgets he'd invented had really helped out over the years.  
  
"That's nice of you, Sonic. I miss you all, especially Amy."  
  
I sat down suddenly on the wall around the emerald shaft, exasperated. Stupid of me, but I wasn't thinking…  
  
"Don't mention her, buddy. Lately she's been driving me up the wall!" I scowled, remembering all the times during the last few weeks when I had been annoyed, embarrassed and generally hassled by the annoying pink hedgehog with her endless teasing and attempts to 'get me alone'. Yeah, Amy was a friend. And she was someone you'd want on your side in a fight… But why couldn't she just give me some breathing space??!  
  
I'd told her a million times. I wasn't the romantic type, and I certainly wasn't interested.  
  
At least, I don't think I was.  
  
"Intruders- identify yourselves!" Barked a loud, metallic voice!  
  
What? A badnik?!  
  
My fighting instinct went into overdrive… I started back, ready to spring--  
  
--and the movement caused the ancient stones to crumble beneath me…  
  
"Sonic, look out!" Porker yelled, too late. I caught a glimpse of the robot head he had been talking about, on a shelf in the background. The owner of the voice.  
  
Then I was pitched backwards… into the emerald shaft…  
  
I fell- grabbed for the edge- missed. Panicking now, I realised what was about to happen… How could I have been stupid enough to go near those emeralds?  
  
Too late now.  
  
The energy from all seven Chaos Emeralds flowed down this shaft. Now it was flowing into me…  
  
Already I could feel it starting…  
  
I screamed in agony, feeling my body reacting and changing as the power was pumped into me. My thoughts began to cloud, spiralling out of control… I tried to fight it, but it was no use.  
  
And then I didn't want to fight it anymore. I was invincible… I could do anything…  
  
That was the last thing I remembered for some time…  
  
* * * *  
  
…He was falling through the emerald shaft.  
  
There was no reason to be falling, his instincts urged. A tiny expenditure of energy, and the hedgehog simply stopped in mid air and reversed his course.  
  
He flipped over the crumbling wall and landed on his feet on the Emerald Chamber floor.  
  
Blazing golden-yellow quills dripped a continuous cascade of excess energy. The eyes glowed, burning red and pupil-less. They shone with pure rage and chaos; their expression mirrored in the decidedly evil, sharp toothed grin.  
  
"Finally… I have returned!" The creature roared triumphantly. "Once again I am Super Sonic!"  
  
He snarled, revelling in the power crackling through his body. He was stronger than ever before; he had never been in contact with so much pure Chaos energy. The power screamed to be put to use. But for what?  
  
The fury in Super Sonic's eyes grew, his fists clenched at his sides. Untamed emotion was surging through him; all of Sonic's pent-up rage, frustration and hate had been released and was flowing freely through his mind.  
  
He had to satisfy the rage, the all-consuming anger…  
  
"My hatred consumes me… I must find something to destroy!"  
  
His eyes flitted around the room. It would be easy to obliterate this place… the flimsy stone walls, the island itself… so fragile, so simple to pulverise.  
  
Too easy. It would be nothing to him.  
  
It wasn't enough.  
  
No, it would take more than that to feed his inner furnace. Super Sonic needed to destroy something that would respond… something that would amuse him… something that would show terror before he ended its' existence.  
  
Something… alive…  
  
He didn't want to smash. He wanted to kill.  
  
Something nagged at him… a memory… hadn't he been thinking of someone earlier, when he was weaker?  
  
"A name…" the yellow hedgehog muttered. "Who was it? Who was I just thinking of before?"  
  
It was hard to recall… something- someone- had been irritating him. He would make them pay for that.  
  
Who had it been? It was her… the pink one… what was her name?  
  
"Amy… Amy Rose!" he said haltingly, as the memory grudgingly surfaced. He remembered now- snatches of conversations, the endless teasing… annoyance and embarrassment all centred on her…  
  
Grinning maliciously, Super Sonic lifted into the air and accelerated out of the room. He barely felt the impact as he ploughed through the opposite wall; it was like tissue paper to him, besides, he had other things to think about.  
  
His target was set. Like a living missile, the chaotic hedgehog thundered into the sky and disappeared. His mind was set on a single goal: the complete and total annihilation of Amy Rose…  
  
* * * *  
  
Super Sonic rocketed through the atmosphere, a few hundred feet above the clouds. His flight was effortless; he could travel a hundred miles in the blink of an eye…  
  
Yet still his mind was fixed on destruction. Amy… she had angered him so much… she would die for that. He relished the thought of it. But the hedgehog's brain buzzed with the uncontrollable fury- his scowl deepened, fists working spasmodically.  
  
There was so much power… so much rage…  
  
He couldn't stand it anymore… this was taking too long! He had to find something to destroy, now!  
  
There! A small glint of metal in the distance. Red eyes narrowed as Super Sonic identified it as an aircraft… a bulky machine, it's flight clumsy and ungainly compared to his own.  
  
One of Robotnik's troop transports, some hazy memory told him.  
  
"Now what have we here?" the hedgehog grinned maliciously, altering his course to intercept the craft. A deep- rooted hatred of Robotnik pushed his anger to new heights.  
  
Within moments, the unsuspecting vehicle became an expanding fireball as Super Sonic tore through it's fuselage; and with an evil chuckle, he turned to inspect his work.  
  
That was fun.  
  
And there would be more where that came from, once he found Amy.  
  
The amber hedgehog roared with laughter and followed the wreckage as it plummeted towards the ground.  
  
Flying was so easy now… why had he been content with just running before?  
  
Super Sonic burst through the cloud layer. The planet's surface was spread out before him, and he scanned the green landscape… smirking with pleasure as he imagined it all in flames.  
  
Later. First he would deal with the girl.  
  
Those weaklings should be around here somewhere…  
  
Sure enough, there was a dot in the distance… he flew closer, recognising the old - fashioned gypsy caravan. Even at this distance, his vision was sharp enough to pick out the three figures outside- one grey, one orange…  
  
--and one pink…  
  
Super Sonic accelerated, descending until he nearly brushed the treetops. He was close now, and the three animals had spotted him. Grinning at their shocked expressions, the hedgehog rocketed towards his intended victim--  
  
"Amy Rose, prepare to die!!"  
  
* * * *  
  
To be continued!! 


	2. Sonic No More?

Running Wild! Part 2  
  
By T. 'RockChick' Evans  
  
Well, here's part 2… finally!(exams, y'see…) Thanks to everyone on ff.net who reviewed part 1, I didn't expect to get that many! And thanks to Orin for the mention in her fic, 'The Chaos Within'. Seriously, if you like this, you should check that one out too!  
  
* * * *  
  
"Amy Rose, prepare to die!!" Super Sonic screamed, speeding through the air towards the pink hedgehog.  
  
No… he couldn't destroy her this quickly…  
  
Where was the fun in that?  
  
He grinned a little so that his sharp fangs showed, and decreased his speed slightly. Allowed her to duck out of the way. He would let Amy think she had escaped; a deadly game of cat and mouse.  
  
Not bothering to correct his course, the yellow hedgehog saw the caravan looming up ahead of him… the grin grew wider…  
  
What was in there? Fuel? Whatever it was, the vehicle went up in a raging fireball. Super Sonic was engulfed in flames.  
  
He felt the heat; but protected by his aura of energy, he wasn't burned. Even if he had been, his body would have healed itself in seconds…  
  
The hedgehog burst out of the inferno and roared with triumphant laughter.  
  
"These flames cannot harm me! Nothing can harm Super Sonic!!"  
  
He floated in mid air and turned his glowing red eyes towards the three animals, gloating at their fear.  
  
Amy… Tails… Johnny. The rabbit holding the laptop that was the Kintobor Computer.  
  
"Oh boy. He's really gone this time!" Amy exclaimed.  
  
She had no idea!  
  
Super Sonic was so much stronger than those weaklings… had he actually been friends with the pathetic creatures once?!  
  
He gazed at them and snarled. He had the power, and they were nothing… all that mattered was to feed the rage.  
  
He decided that they would all die.  
  
As if on cue, Amy, Tails and Johnny took to their heels.  
  
Cowards! Running away, were they? Well, Super Sonic thought, let them run. It was more fun that way.  
  
They took cover behind some rocks at the foot of a cliff, obviously devising plans and thinking they were safe. Super Sonic followed; zooming along the cliff face faster than the eye could see.  
  
He stopped about twenty feet from the ground, and listened to them talking.  
  
"Where's he gone? I can't see him anywhere. Where's he gone?!" The orange fox whined.  
  
"Tails, this is no time to panic!" Snapped Amy.  
  
The yellow hedgehog smirked. How wrong she was. He dive-bombed towards the small group- not that he needed to be that close to dispose of them…  
  
Stopping, he gathered his strength; focusing his energy into twin beams of searing power from his eyes!  
  
"Permission to panic, dear friends!" he yelled as their hiding place smashed into a million pieces, forcing the freedom fighters to scurry for cover. He was pleased; Super Sonic had never had enough power for an attack like that before.  
  
"All you have to look forward to now is fear and death!" the hedgehog laughed, giving chase. A second round of energy beams missed the fleeing Mobians by inches, and pulverised more of the surrounding rocks.  
  
Going for the direct approach, Super Sonic accelerated ahead of his former friends, and turned around…  
  
"Look out!1 Amy shouted. "He's diving at as again! Everyone down!"  
  
The three ducked; the hedgehog missed…  
  
"You worms cannot dodge me forever!" he growled. "Next time I'll get you! Next time I'll--"  
  
--Not looking where he was going, his trajectory took him straight into the cliff face--  
  
There was a deafening rumble…. And thousands of tons of rubble, loosened by the impact, came down on top of him…  
  
* * * *  
  
Super Sonic felt stone pressing on him from all sides, and scowled furiously to himself.  
  
Sonic would have been dead by now…  
  
Realising this, he was pleased.  
  
Sonic wouldn't have stood a chance. But for Super Sonic, this was nothing.  
  
He shifted his position, taking the weight of the rocks on his back… then it was almost annoyingly easy to heave the majority of the debris out of the way. His fist broke free of the rubble, and moments later the yellow hedgehog emerged into the daylight.  
  
He stood on top of the stone pile and grinned.  
  
…such incredible strength! And freedom to finally express all the hate and pain that Sonic had buried over the years. The power to destroy an entire world, at his fingertips…  
  
If only he could stay this way forever.  
  
But he could not. At some point he would revert back to his weaker, blue form; bound once more to those stifling concepts of right and wrong…  
  
So he had to make the most of this opportunity.  
  
The swirling red eyes turned back to Amy, Tails and Johnny…  
  
"How do you defeat something like that?" Breathed the pink hedgehog.  
  
Super Sonic's evil smile grew wider. Her despair was amusing to witness…  
  
He observed for a second or two, as the rabbit advised Tails to fly for help. The fox refused to leave his friends.  
  
"How pathetic," Super Sonic sneered to himself.  
  
"Wait!" Amy suddenly exclaimed. "Johnny mentioned flying… that gives me an idea! Follow me!"  
  
Once again, the three animals took off.  
  
From his vantage point, the yellow hedgehog watched.  
  
So they wanted to play hide and seek, did they? Fine. He would have some more fun with them.  
  
"Run, see if I care! You can't hide from me!" he chuckled, closing his eyes. Arms folded, a smirk playing over his face, the hedgehog stood motionless.  
  
He waited for a minute or so. Then the eyes opened, and he leaped to the ground.  
  
Now where could those idiots be hiding…  
  
"Come out, come out wherever you are…" Super Sonic called in a singsong voice, striding across the ground in search of his prey. "There's no need to hide from your best friend!" he added slyly, after a moment's thought.  
  
A noise from above abruptly caught his attention. Tails' old red biplane arced overhead, a thick white vapour trail streaming out behind it.  
  
"Ah ha, trying to run out on me, eh?"  
  
The hedgehog tutted reproachfully, shaking his head. Was that the best they could come up with?! Just flying away in that stupid little tin can?  
  
How disappointing!  
  
He would have expected more from Amy. This was downright dull.  
  
"I'm bored!" Super Sonic snapped, perfectly displaying his limited attention span. "Time to finish this!"  
  
Once again, the hedgehog tapped into his energy and unleashed a pair of deadly eye beams.  
  
The lower right wing of the plane exploded into smoking fragments.  
  
Fire quickly took hold of the fragile wings and fuselage. The craft pitched like a wounded bird.  
  
With flame and smoke spewing from the engine and wings, the biplane followed a lazy downward spiral and smacked into the ground- like a dying phoenix, never to rise again. An explosion of fuel followed, setting the dry grass alight; the blaze spreading out of control.  
  
Super Sonic watched, rapt. Tails, Johnny and -most importantly- Amy were destroyed. His 'mission' was complete.  
  
His fury satisfied for now, the hedgehog burst into peal after peal of maniacal laughter…  
  
* * * *  
  
…I found myself standing… somewhere else. A smell of burning, green grass beneath my feet. Where was I?  
  
What had I been doing? Laughing? Yes… I remembered laughing. And rage… mindless rage…  
  
Before that, nothing.  
  
What had happened?  
  
My mind struggled to remember… I was on the floating island, and… and then… I had fallen into the emerald shaft. After which everything was blank.  
  
Dread began to creep through me, spreading like ice in my veins. I tried to deny it; but I knew better than that. This had happened so many times before; I knew that feeling only too well…  
  
The slight weariness in my body, the disorientation, the blank space in my memory. It all added up to one undeniable truth:  
  
I had become Super Sonic again.  
  
"No…" I whispered to myself, as I hoped with all my heart that I hadn't hurt anyone this time.  
  
Hurt someone… or worse…  
  
A flash-frame slammed into my head; a hint of a memory… faint…  
  
Faces. Tails, Johnny, …Amy… their faces, etched in fear.  
  
Had I…?  
  
Oh, God. No.  
  
I turned around. Slowly. My whole body shaking. Dreading what I might see; expecting the worst, and getting it.  
  
"…oh no…"  
  
A scene of ruin met my eyes. I recognised the place now, it was where me and the gang were staying.  
  
But now… everything was destroyed. Beyond the green patch where I was standing, the ground was scorched; the bushes reduced to charcoal.  
  
And there was worse--  
  
The remains of our caravan, in flames. Tails' plane… barely recognisable. It had obviously crashed- the aircraft had ploughed a furrow into the ground, and was burning fiercely.  
  
Although I couldn't remember, I knew that I had done this… and I knew that my friends had been on board that plane when I…  
  
…When I had shot it down…  
  
"What have I done…?"  
  
I knew what I had done. I had killed them. My own friends, the only 'family' I had ever known.  
  
Dead by my own hands.  
  
"What… have I… done…?" I moaned again. How could I have done this? Reduced myself to a murderer, a monster?  
  
My legs collapsed under me; and I fell to my knees, sobbing. Not usually the one to cry, but I couldn't help it.  
  
My hands clenched involuntarily, clutching at the grass, fingers digging into the earth… although I could see what I was doing, I couldn't feel it. It was as if the world had just faded away. There was nothing left now, nothing except the pain, the loss, the self- loathing…  
  
"Aaaargh!!!" I screamed in pure anguish.  
  
Then I started to feel power rising in me. The energy was still there; I had absorbed so much from the Chaos Emeralds…  
  
I was about to transform again, I realised.  
  
And… I hate to admit it, but part of me wanted to. If I surrendered to that energy, I wouldn't have to feel like this… I wouldn't care anymore. There would just be the rage, and power… it was so tempting just to let go…  
  
"No… not AGAIN!!" I yelled, realising suddenly how weak I was being. I couldn't just give in. I already had the blood of three of my best friends on my hands, did I really want any other innocent people to die?  
  
No!  
  
I clenched my teeth, fighting it. Managed to push the rising fury back to my subconscious, where it belonged. It would have been impossible to stop the change if I hadn't already taken my anger out on someone…  
  
I? How could I say 'I'? It wasn't me, I thought desperately. I wasn't in control. It wasn't my fault.  
  
No.  
  
I realised that I couldn't run away from the blame this time. It was me. I did this.  
  
It was my fault.  
  
And it would happen again. Unless I ended it now.  
  
I knew what I had to do.  
  
I got to my feet with new resolve, and ran…  
  
~ To be continued… ~  
  
Cliffhangers, huh? Heh heh, I am evil…. :)  
  
(And he hasn't said 'Raargh' once yet. ) 


	3. Fission

Running Wild! Part 3.  
  
By T. 'RockChick' Evans.  
  
Lots of angst and weirdness in this one. It's longer than parts 1 & 2, but I wanted to get into Sonic's thoughts more.  
  
Poor Sonic, don't you just feel sorry for him?  
  
Nah… :)  
  
(Sonic: Have you got a death wish?!  
  
RockChick: Uh oh…)  
  
* * * *  
  
I sat at the bar, staring morosely at the can of Coke in front of me. The same thing that I'd been doing all day. My face was hidden in the shadows of the hooded grey cloak that I was wearing; I only hoped that the outlines of my quills weren't too obvious through the material.  
  
I didn't want to be recognised. Not now, not ever.  
  
As far as I was concerned, Sonic the hedgehog was dead- and that was exactly the way I wanted it.  
  
Yes… I wished I was dead. It wasn't like me to think that way… but I had killed my own friends. I was a murderer, so why would I want to live? Especially now that I was a danger to everyone around me. There was so much Chaos energy flowing through me that the slightest stress could cause the transformation into Super Sonic…  
  
I had hoped it would fade with time. But the power was still there, even after two weeks… I could feel it, pulsing in every cell of my body, waiting. Terrifyingly close to the surface.  
  
Terrifying, but also somehow tempting…  
  
That was why I hadn't attempted suicide. I had thought about it, I had even come close to leaping from the top of one of the Metropolis Zone's skyscrapers. But I knew what would happen. A moment of fear, an instant of pain, and my demon would be released.  
  
Even a nightmare could trigger it. And I had had plenty of those… I had relived the moment when I realised what I had done many times in the past fortnight. Sometimes, I awoke screaming. More often than not in a completely different Zone to the one I went to sleep in. I dreaded to think how many other innocent lives I had ended.  
  
Turning myself in to the police would do no good, either.  
  
Instead, I opted to disappear. I would live out the rest of my days in hiding, hopefully finding somewhere remote and uninhabited where I wouldn't be a threat anymore. I had yet to find that place.  
  
So somehow I wound up in the Metropolis Zone.  
  
It was almost funny, when I thought about it. Here I was, in Spike's Place- one of the Zone's most notorious bars… and I had spent the last of my money on a can of cola. The one eyed bulldog behind the bar - Spike, probably- had given me the mother of all weird looks…  
  
But no matter how much I wanted to, I wasn't going to drown my sorrows with something stronger. Anything that would make me let my guard down or lose control of my emotions for even a moment could be disastrous.  
  
I took a sip of the now- flat Coke. My hand was shaking…  
  
A group of three rough- looking characters were engaged in a rowdy conversation further down the bar, almost drowning out the raucous noise from the other 'customers'. I quickly sized them up; feeling glad that my hood prevented anyone from seeing where I was looking.  
  
Definitely not the type of people you wanted to mess with.  
  
A grey dog and a scar-faced rodent stood by the bar; and listening in behind them was a huge, muscular boar, complete with tusks. I could tell that this hog was the complete opposite of Porker Lewis.  
  
I made to get up and leave, but a snatch of conversation caught my ear.  
  
"I heard he killed them all when he was Super Sonic…" the dog remarked. "Blew their plane right out of the sky!"  
  
Talking about me. They were talking about me! I winced… I didn't want to be reminded. Amy, Tails Johnny… I had betrayed them. They were gone…  
  
At least I couldn't remember doing it. But perhaps, deep down, I wanted to remember. I deserved it, I thought. Deserved to be haunted by my friends' final moments, forever…  
  
I found myself wondering- when I was Super Sonic, what drove me? Blind rage?  
  
Or something else?  
  
Perhaps I had acted on a subconscious desire… had some dark part of myself actually wanted to see them dead?  
  
No, I told myself… that wasn't what I wanted. I would never have wished that on my friends…  
  
Would I…?  
  
The guy with the buck teeth and scarred face chuckled.  
  
"Hah. Sonic killing his own gang… what a laugh!" he smirked…  
  
The lowlife actually smirked.  
  
That was something I just couldn't stand…  
  
"Yeah, real funny…" I snarled with sarcasm, and a trace of my former attitude.  
  
"You talking to me, stranger?" he snapped… the guy was probably drunk, I thought, and out for a fight. I cursed my short temper; I was supposed to be lying low!  
  
"Forget it," I muttered quietly. I just wanted to be left alone.  
  
But the rodent would have none of it.  
  
"Don't tell me to forget it, creep!"  
  
He grabbed the hood of my cloak, pulling it down… and his eyes widened in shock and recognition…  
  
"Hey, look!" he exclaimed. "It's Sonic the hedgehog!"  
  
If only I wasn't so damn famous!  
  
But I was, and my cover was blown. I backed off, allowing the now- useless cloak to fall away; my eyes desperately scanning for an exit.  
  
There was none. I was surrounded by dozens of shady characters, each with an identical hostile stare.  
  
"I…I ain't looking for trouble!" I said, feeling the beginnings of panic. Yeah, I was afraid. Again, that wasn't like me… but my spirit was broken; besides, I had every right to be terrified.  
  
Not for me, though. For them.  
  
"Robotnik still has a reward out on this guy, right?" the large pig began menacingly.  
  
"Right," The dog confirmed. About twenty of the guys began to advance on me, made confident by alcohol and my apparent fear.  
  
"Keep back, please…" I pleaded. Still no exit. My back was pressing against the wall… cornered.  
  
They kept on coming. I tried to warn them… my own terror was working against me now, and I could feel the familiar buzzing in my head.  
  
"…I…I mustn't get upset…" I gasped. The change had started… my heart began to beat faster; my muscles tightened; red began to creep in around the edges of my vision.  
  
"No… it's too late. The stress is making me change… no!" Fury. Power. I saw the blue colour of my fur start to lighten, and closed my eyes…shaking my head violently in an attempt to clear my thoughts… I had to fight it…  
  
"How about that. Sonic's scared… Hah, what a coward!" I heard someone say.  
  
There was no stopping it now. My body shuddered, altering… I feared for the city's inhabitants…  
  
"I'm scared all right," I moaned through clenched teeth, trying to hold back the energy for a little longer. "Scared of what I might do to you… but now it's… too late…"  
  
But by the time I finished saying that, it didn't seem to matter anymore…  
  
* * * *  
  
Super Sonic ricocheted around the tavern like a manic pinball, his golden-yellow form shedding crackles of energy.  
  
"Feel my power, you pitiful fools!!" he yelled at the terrified people all around.  
  
Pick a fight with him, would they? They would soon know better…  
  
…if they lived long enough.  
  
But, the hedgehog thought, were these pathetic specimens worth his time?  
  
Not when there was a whole city to devastate! Yes, he was in a city… he remembered that…  
  
Aiming a final spin attack at the bar, he bounced of the remains and exited through the ceiling.  
  
The roof suddenly exploded into fragments, and Super Sonic erupted into the air with an insane grin and a shower of debris…  
  
He looked down.  
  
The grin turned into a frown… standing outside were three familiar figures. A hedgehog, a fox, and a rabbit. They had that laptop with them, and… something else, big, covered with a tarpaulin.  
  
Wait a minute… didn't he remember destroying those three?  
  
Super Sonic hated unfinished business. He would deal with them… after he got some answers.  
  
"Why, if it isn't Amy Rose and her cute little furry friends…" he called, her name coming more easily to him this time. "Aren't you all supposed to be dead? I saw your plane crash. I'm really interested to know how you escaped…"  
  
Actually, he didn't particularly care much, but they must have pulled something incredible to escape him.  
  
He regarded the pink girl expectantly, descending to a couple of metres from the ground.  
  
"Well…" she began hesitantly, nervously. "I… I used the Kintobor computer to fly our plane by remote control… we were never actually on it!"  
  
Not bad, considered the yellow hedgehog. Not that it would do them any good.  
  
Tails and Johnny were up to something, he realised. Pulling the big, tarpaulin covered thing into an upright position… what was it? The shape was somehow familiar.  
  
Didn't matter. Whatever they were doing, he could deal with.  
  
"We've been on your trail for weeks…" Amy's voice took on a pleading note. "Sonic, please listen… your not yourself, we just want to help you get better!"  
  
No. Way.  
  
He was not Sonic.  
  
He was Super Sonic.  
  
And he had every intention of staying that way.  
  
"You fools!" he snarled, eyes glowing fiercely. "Why should I want to turn back into that blue weakling that I used to be?" The hedgehog began to rise into the air, fists clenched in fury. "I am now the most powerful being on Planet Mobius…" The malicious grin returned… "The only ones who need help… are you!"  
  
He dived.  
  
"Sonic, no!!" Amy shrieked, just managing to throw herself out of the way; Super Sonic skimmed the ground, then shot off into the air.  
  
He turned, coming back for another run-- and a flying orange fox suddenly darted in front of him.  
  
So Tails wanted to play, too?  
  
With a twisted smirk, the hedgehog gave chase to the irritating little kid. The one who was always under his feet, in his way.  
  
How annoying.  
  
Super Sonic allowed the fox to stay ahead for the moment, toying with him. They swept around the star post- for that was what the tarpaulin covered thing was- which had lost its' covering, and now had some kind of wiring attached to it.  
  
The yellow hedgehog barely noticed this, though. He was in striking distance; he reached out to grab the fleeing fox…  
  
He would rip his tails off first, he decided.  
  
Then, unexpectedly-  
  
"Wha--?"  
  
Something- some force- jerked him to a halt, pulling him in…  
  
Super Sonic snarled in outrage. He turned, observing a beam of golden light connecting him to the star post's disc…  
  
"Some kind of energy beam… dragging me back…"  
  
What were they up to?  
  
He struggled to remain stationary, but the tractor beam drew him inexorably towards the star post.  
  
The hedgehog hissed, enraged. He would not be beaten by some stupid machine; it couldn't possibly be stronger than he was. Nothing was stronger than Super Sonic--  
  
Straining against the beam with all his energy, he spun round the star post; getting faster and further away with each orbit. ..  
  
It was working… he was going to escape… Super Sonic grinned; it would take more than this to get the better of him. A few more seconds and the tether would snap.  
  
It snapped all right, but not in the way he expected. A pulse of energy suddenly travelled down the beam; it rippled and flexed, then abruptly twanged like an elastic band. With the force of a cracking whip, the thread of power sucked the yellow hedgehog in…  
  
"Noooo!!!" He shrieked, moments before disappearing into the star post.  
  
* * * *  
  
…I awoke in limbo, a swirling nothingness. I had been there before; I recognised the dimensional rift between Mobius and the Special Zone.  
  
What had I done this time? How did I end up here?  
  
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember. As usual.  
  
Then, there was pain--  
  
…I would have screamed, if I could. There was…. A pulling. Like I was caught in some kind of cosmic tug of war; it felt like my mind was being ripped in two.  
  
I suppose it was, now I come to think of it.  
  
I felt every last bit of energy being drained from me; then everything went dark, and I was falling…  
  
Someone caught me in mid air. My head was pounding- I opened my eyes, but shut them again just as quickly. Everything was blurry, spinning. It made me want to throw up. And I felt strange… different somehow, like something was missing…  
  
I staggered as I was set down on the ground, feeling weak and dizzy; luckily, someone supported me so I didn't embarrass myself by falling over.  
  
"Wh… what's going on…" I muttered groggily, opening my eyes again. Luckily everything came into focus this time, even if my head was still spinning.  
  
But I didn't believe what I saw.  
  
Or should I say, who. Tails and Johnny were either side of me, and helped keep me upright until I got some of my co-ordination back. Amy was in front with the Kintobor computer.  
  
I blinked and shook my head … no, I wasn't imagining things. My friends were there, alive! For a moment, my muddled brain was afraid… maybe this was another one of those nightmares, and something was about to happen. But it was way too real for that.  
  
That meant I really hadn't killed them, and it was like a huge weight being taken off my back. I just stood there, speechless, infinitely relieved.  
  
"Sonic, you turned Super again- but worse than ever," Johnny explained. Yeah, I'd already figured that one out. But what had happened then? I put a hand to my forehead, trying to ease the slowly- fading headache.  
  
"Kintobor worked out how to use the star post's energy to remove all the emerald radiation…" Amy said. More geek speak, but this I understood. She was right, there was no Chaos energy in me now. That's why I felt so drained…  
  
But it was more than that. Ever since I had first become Super Sonic, I had been able to sense that fury lurking somewhere in the back of my mind… now there was nothing.  
  
Did that mean I was finally… free?  
  
Well… yes and no.  
  
"Amy, I'm picking up really wacky readings from the star post!" Kintobor exclaimed suddenly. "If I'm right, we may have sent all the emerald energy into the Special Zone." The computer paused ominously. "What I'm trying to say, is that Super Sonic may still be alive in there!"  
  
I tensed. This was bad… but maybe Kintobor was wrong. How was it possible?  
  
"But how could he exist by himself?" Amy pondered, echoing my thoughts as she looked around at the crowd that was starting to gather.  
  
Johnny shook his head, observing the throng of people. Some of which looked curious, some scared… and some openly hostile.  
  
"Look," the rabbit began quietly, cautiously. "There's nothing we can do about that right now… let's get out of here!"  
  
I nodded, and my three friends moved off- leaving the now damaged and useless star post where it stood in the street. After shaking my head to clear the last of the confusion, I followed… a bit shakily. I have to admit that I'd have been better off with someone's help, but I was glad Tails, Amy or Johnny didn't offer… they know me better than that.  
  
Even in a situation like this, they hadn't let me down. Even when I (he?) had tried to kill them…  
  
Guess I'm lucky to have such good friends, huh?  
  
"This has been a total nightmare. You all risked your lives…" I began, then hesitated. I cleared my throat and continued… even I can forget my pride sometimes. "Thanks, guys. I…er… owe you one!"  
  
They looked at me, surprised. I grinned, realising for the first time that it was finally over… even though Kintobor had said Super Sonic might still be around, and I would have to go to the Special Zone and check it out.  
  
But as for me… my curse was lifted. I wouldn't have to worry about hurting people any more.  
  
Never again…  
  
* * * *  
  
The Special Zone. An universe all it's own, with a region of chaos and confusion at it's heart…  
  
The echidnas had called it the Nightmare Country. And perhaps they had been right… especially now.  
  
The shifting core of the Zone was made up of thousands of nonsensical geometric objects floating in space, as well as asteroids, old space ships and other junk that had been sucked in.  
  
The sudden flash of brilliant yellow energy went unnoticed, such phenomenon being common in the area. But this was different…  
  
A ball of pure Chaos energy emerged from non- space and hovered there for a moment. After a few seconds it began to coalesce, gradually forming the shape of a hedgehog. Yellow quills, red eyes.  
  
Super Sonic looked around and realised that something was different… he was different.  
  
He was now composed entirely of pure Chaos energy.  
  
He was here… but Sonic was somewhere else.  
  
Freedom.  
  
Freedom at last.  
  
With a diabolical chuckle, Super Sonic hurtled into the depths of the zone. If he was no longer a part of that blue hedgehog, that meant…  
  
…He could destroy him. Sonic would die, quite literally, by his own hands. And Sonic deserved to suffer, after keeping Super Sonic trapped for all those years.  
  
The chuckle turned into a bellow of uncontrollable laughter. It amused him to no end… and he couldn't wait to see the look on that weakling's face.  
  
Oh yes, Sonic would suffer.  
  
But first, it was time for a little fun…  
  
*** ~ The end… ~ ***  
  
Did I do STC justice? Is that possible? If 'yes', yayyy!! If 'no'…. tough.  
  
Thalia 'RockChick' 


End file.
